


Home is Where the Nonsense Is

by yet_intrepid



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cats, Dogs, Fluff, Galaxy Garrison, Gen, Matt Holt is a Little Shit, Pidge is also a little shit, Pre-Canon, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 11:04:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13832835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yet_intrepid/pseuds/yet_intrepid
Summary: Shiro doesn't understand the Holt family, necessarily. But he does love their dog.





	Home is Where the Nonsense Is

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buttered_onions](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttered_onions/gifts).



> HAP BIRTH LISA ONIONS! HERE IS SHIRO WITH A DOG AND SOME SILLINESS!

“Thank you for inviting me, sir,” Shiro says to Sam, as he follows Matt’s lead in taking his shoes off at the door. “I really appreciate—”

“Oh, shut up,” says Matt.

“Matt!” Sam retorts, smiling. “But also, yes, shut up, Shiro. It’s a pleasure to have you around.”

Shiro hesitates a moment, trying to frame a polite response to his superior officer grinning at him and telling him to shut up. But then there’s a clattering noise, and two short barks, and—

“Cat!” Matt yells, as something which is very clearly not a cat bursts around the corner into the kitchen. “Come here, you big puppy, what a good boy!”

Shiro feels his own face split into a grin, too. The Holts have a _dog_.

Matt’s sitting on the floor now, scratching the dog’s ears and baby-talking, and Shiro sets his shoes neatly against the wall before bending down to let the dog sniff his hand.

“What’s his name?” he asks, looking at Sam.

“Depends on who you ask,” Sam answers, laughing. “Technically he’s Gunther, but he hasn’t responded to that for a good couple years. Mostly we call him Baebae.”

“His name’s Cat,” Matt says, definitively. “Aww, come on, Cat, boy, you like Shiro better than me? That’s not fair!”

Cat, or Baebae, or whoever the dog is, does in fact like Shiro. He’s got his face all up in Shiro’s space, licking him, panting enthusiastically. Shiro laughs too, because it’s been so long since he’s seen a dog. The Garrison isn’t exactly pet-friendly, after all.

“Hi sweetie!” Shiro enthuses, his hands all buried in fur. “You’re so good, yes you are.”

By the time Shiro and Matt are done enthusing over Cat, Sam has already wandered into the kitchen, where he and Colleen are doing the last of the dinner prep. Katie is lurking between the entryway and the kitchen, holding a large and annoyed cat—actually a cat, and Shiro stares for a moment, because why would you name your dog Cat when you also have a cat? But then he remembers that this is _Matt’s_ family, and just shakes his head.

“Hi Katie,” he says, smiling at her as he gives Cat a last scratch and pulls himself up from the floor. “Let me guess, this is Dog?”

She grins back. “Close. Her name’s Matey.”

“Matey?” Shiro feels the whole family still, looking at him. He gets the uncomfortable feeling that there’s a joke he isn’t getting. How is Matey close to—

Matt cracks up. The rest of the family follows, and Matey leaps out of Katie’s arms to perch on the counter, indignant at the hilarity.

Shiro is also, admittedly, a little indignant. “What?” he demands of Matt, rounding on him. “What does it mean?”

“Matey and Cat,” Matt says slowly. “Matey and Cat.”

It sounds immensely familiar, and Shiro isn’t sure why. He keeps staring at them and they keep laughing and Cat butts his head against Shiro’s knee, asking for more pets.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Shiro mutters to the dog as he happily gives in and strokes the soft ears. “You’re my only ally here, aren’t you?”

Katie sighs, disappointed. “Shiro, come on. What’s my name?”

“Katie,” Shiro says. “I don’t get—”

“And what’s my name?” says Matt.

“Matt,” says Shiro. He hasn’t felt this dumb in a long time.

“So together,” Matt goes on, helpfully, “we’re…”

“Katie and Matt.” It dawns on him slowly. “God, Matt, I hate you. That’s the most chaos-inducing set of names I’ve ever heard.”

“Nothing wrong with a little chaos,” Matt says.

“And there’s been plenty,” puts in Colleen. “I’m pretty sure I call my kids by the pets’ names more often than not, at this point.”

Sam adjusts his glasses with a pointed look at the kids. “Right. Which is why we’re using Baebae now, remember?”

“Nothing wrong with pets having more than one name,” says Katie. “Matey, get off the counter.”

Matey ignores her. Matt brushes past Katie and scoops up Matey, while Cat rushes over in excitement to try and greet the cat, and Shiro’s head is starting to hurt from all this. But the Holts are laughing and Shiro gives in, gives in and lets go and enjoys the chaos as they sit down to eat. Gives in, and lets himself feel at home.


End file.
